as in pressure
the use of power to impose one's will on another
in that class I read books under compulsion that I ordinarily wouldn't have considered
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Recent Examples of compulsion
This compulsion to celebrate himself in general, and to celebrate such a juvenile, harmless gesture in particular, should be yet another reason to lose all patience with Lee Raybon.
—
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
Political compulsions could lead to measures that expand the country's fiscal deficit, further raising borrowing costs.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
When compulsion takes over, therein lies the destruction of an industry.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Doubtless this is a version of Freud’s repetition compulsion, the neurotic’s desperate drive to repeat his trauma rather than remember it.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
Political compulsions could lead to measures that expand the country's fiscal deficit, further raising borrowing costs.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
When compulsion takes over, therein lies the destruction of an industry.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Doubtless this is a version of Freud’s repetition compulsion, the neurotic’s desperate drive to repeat his trauma rather than remember it.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compulsion
Noun
-
By the time the impeachment trial commenced, the top-down pressure from prominent, national Republicans could be seen and felt.—
Kimberly Ross,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
His game plan was to move forward, pressure Volkanovski and land with power.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The network denied the claims but admitted it was edited due to time constraints.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The credit rating agency put the rise down to policy weaknesses, market constraints, and inflation, Reuters noted.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Many journalists don’t want to lose access and are subject to coercion and intimidation that can influence their reporting.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Its alignment with figures like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un symbolizes the isolation and reputational decay of a regime that relies on coercion rather than consent.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Husseini’s successor of sorts, his distant cousin Yasser Arafat, also resorted to murder and intimidation.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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This decision undermines basic constitutional protections and deepens the climate of intimidation against both immigrants and people of color.—
Norma Chavez-Peterson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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More than a dozen people faced criminal charges stemming from a melee after a rally in Soliman’s support; demonstrators and police blame each other for the violence July 17.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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Experts have cautioned against tying mental health to acts of gun violence, and told ABC News that the narrative that people with mental illness are more violent than their peers is false; the majority of people who commit violence do not have a history of mental illness.—
Oren Oppenheim,
ABC News,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Compulsion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsion. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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